MINNEAPOLIS (Reuters) - The Philadelphia Eagles upset the National Football League's defending champion New England Patriots 41-33 in a back-and-forth clash on Sunday to capture their maiden Super Bowl title.

For the Eagles, who previously lost title games in 1981 and 2005, the win capped a remarkable late-season charge that most observers considered unthinkable when starting quarterback Carson Wentz suffered a season-ending injury in December.

The Eagles, trailing by one point late in the fourth quarter, moved 38-33 ahead when quarterback Nick Foles connected with tight end Zach Ertz on a 11-yard touchdown that held up after a review determined it was a catch.

Philadelphia missed a subsequent two-point conversion attempt to leave the door open for the Patriots with a little less than two-and-a-half minutes to play.

But in a game when both offenses moved up and down the field effortlessly, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady had the ball swatted from his grasp by Brandon Graham and Philadelphia's Derek Barnett recovered the fumble.

The Eagles went on to kick a field goal to extend their lead to eight points and denied the Patriots from engineering a last-minute, game-tying drive.